Our annual, albeit belated, Earth Day Kuulei Road Clean Up took place on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Members of the WBT sangha picked up rubbish along both sides of Kuulei Road in Kailua, where our temple is located.
Mahalo to Stephen Ochikubo (not pictured) who took the bags of rubbish to the dump.
Rev. Dr. Bert Sumikawa
Earth Day & Remembrance Day Dharma Service for Sunday, April 24, 2022 with Rev. Dr. Bert Sumikawa at Windward Buddhist Temple. Remembrance Day is a time to honor family, friends, and even pets who passed away during the month of April, regardless of the year. This Jodo Shinshu Buddhist church service was recorded at Windward Buddhist Temple, a Shin Buddhist Temple in Kailua, Hawaii.
00:00 - Opening Remarks & Program
00:31 - Ringing of the kansho (temple bell)
02:57 - Meditation
04:03 - Vandana & Ti-Sarana (page 7 in the red service book)
06:20 - San Bu Jo & Aspiration
08:26 - Remembrance - April
12:07 - Sutra: Praises of the Buddha (page 112 in the red service book)
22:12 - Recitation: Golden Chain of Love (page 126 in the red service book)
23:05 - Gatha: May Peace Prevail
26:02 - Dharma Talk: Rev. Dr. Bert Sumikawa
46:14 - Gatha: Flying Free
50:45 - The Nembutsu (page 107 in Praises of the Buddha)
51:56 - Closing Aspiration
52:50 - Announcements
59:37 - May Schedule
59:57 - How to Donate to WBT
Happy Earth Day! On Saturday, April 23, 2022, WBT members and families cleaned up Kuulei Road in Kailua, which is the street fronting the temple.
Today was our Earth Day service, with a Dharma Talk by Rev. Bert Sumikawa. Earlier in the morning, before service, the Dharma School held a beach cleanup activity at Kailua Beach.
Our Dharma School students held an Earth Day beach cleanup activity at Kailua Beach before the Earth Day & Remembrance Day service. The kids, families and friends met at the Kailua beach at 7:30 am. After a brief service led by Rev. Bert Sumikawa, about 16 participants went about picking up buckets of trash. It was a great way to appreciate and protect our environment and potentially save ocean creatures and animals.
Today's Dharma Talk was given by Rev. Bert Sumikawa. April is when we celebrate Earth Day, so along with that theme, Rev. Sumikawa talked about garbage.
Today we sort our garbage, placing recyclables in one bin, greens in another, and everything else in the grey bin. Then, every week, garbage trucks empty the bins. The same can be said about suffering. Suffering can be sorted into various "bins" of greed, anger, or ignorance. And, like garbage trucks, people may collect and eventually dump the garbage. Rev. Sumikawa had all in attendance pledge to not be garbage trucks. He showed us a windmill he had made with recycled materials - something good that was made from what was otherwise garbage.
Also on display for Earth Day were various items that Prudence made by recycling common household items, such as empty laundry detergent bottles, old pants, and even natto containers.
We celebrated Earth Day at our April 30 Sunday Family Service. Rev. Umitani's Dharma Talk was about symbiotic relationships, such as that of the Nile crocodile and the Egyptian Plover, and shared the Hongwanji Legislative Assembly's "Green Hongwanji" proclamation. At the 2017 Legislative Assembly, all temples were asked to complete the first Green Hongwanji Survey.
As part of the effort to be more green, members are being asked to bring reusable utensils for refreshments after the Sunday service instead of throwing away plastic forks and paper cups. Reusable bamboo chopsticks and utensil sets were on sale, as well as uniquely decorated nail polish art mugs.
In addition, Prudence prepared a spray bottle for each family to take home with an Earth-friendly all-purpose household cleaner made without chemicals.
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